• One of the largest nocturnal rodent species, the Indian crested porcupine lives in burrows, caves and rock crevices during the day.
• The porcupine is known for the many spines on its body and when alarmed, it raises its spines and rattles those on its tail.
• The fact that they are able to adapt to changing environmental conditions and food habits helps this species survive in close proximity to human beings.

• The Ousteri Lake also referred to as Oussudu Lake is a man-made lake situated in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.
• It is recognized as one of the important wetlands of Asia by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
• The structure of the lake is complex consisting of water, wetland and mudflats.
• Lake acts as the single largest catchment of fresh water in Puducherry.
• The vegetation of the lake (ranges from small herbs to trees) supports migratory avifauna as well as native birds during summer and winter.

• The Bill prohibits commercial surrogacy, but allows altruistic surrogacy.
• Altruistic surrogacy involves no monetary compensation to the surrogate mother other than the medical expenses and insurance coverage during the pregnancy.
• Commercial surrogacy includes surrogacy or its related procedures undertaken for a monetary benefit or reward (in cash or kind) exceeding the basic medical expenses and insurance coverage.

Eligibility criteria for surrogate mother

The surrogate mother has to be:

1. A close relative of the intending couple
2. A married woman having a child of her own
3. 25 to 35 years old
4. A surrogate only once in her lifetime
5. Possess a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy

• The Bill defines a transgender person as one whose gender does not match the gender assigned at birth.
• It includes transmen and trans-women, persons with intersex variations, gender-queers, and persons with socio-cultural identities, such as kinnar and hijra.
• Intersex variations is defined to mean a person who at birth shows variation in his or her primary sexual characteristics, external genitalia, chromosomes, or hormones from the normative standard of male or female body.
• No government or private entity can discriminate against a transgender person in employment matters, including recruitment, and promotion. Every establishment is required to designate a person to be a complaint officer to deal with complaints in relation to the Act.

• Almatti, a major dam on Krishna River that is located in Karnataka, close to the Maharashtra border.

• Assessment of forest and tree cover are done by the Forest Survey of India, whose findings are published in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR).
• The last report was published in 2017.
• A quarter of India’s geographical area (24.49 %) is under forest and tree cover.
• Lowest forest and tree cover (In terms of %): The lowest forest and tree cover in the country is in Haryana, at 6.79 % of its geographical area.
• Punjab follows with 6.87 %. Rajasthan’s forest and tree cover is over 7.26 % of its geographical area while Madhya Pradesh’s is 27.73 %.
• Highest forest and tree cover (In terms of %): At 97 %, the Union Territory of Lakshadweep is on top – its geographical area is only 30 square km.
• Among the six states with the highest forest and tree cover, four are in the Northeast – Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya.
• Goa and Kerala are two other states with more than 50 % of their geographical area under forest and tree cover.
• Highest forest and tree cover (In terms of area): In terms of geographical area, the highest tree and forest cover is in Madhya Pradesh, with 85,487 sq km.

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched the Repurpose Cooking Oil (RUCO) initiative to collect and convert used cooking oil into bio-fuel.

• The Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Haram esh-Sharif and the Al Aqsa Compound is a hill located in the Old City of Jerusalem that for thousands of years has been venerated as a holy site, in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike.

• This animal is quite unusual and is found in scrub jungles, dense forests, foot hills and grasslands.
• It is an excellent ambush predator that hunts small rodents, ground dwelling birds, lizards and insects.
• Its population, despite it being in the Least Concern category in the IUCN Red List, is declining.

• Black naped hare (L. nigricollis), also known as the Indian hare, is restricted to India and Sri Lanka.
• It is usually found in the scrubs, forests adjacent to farm lands and dry rocky habitats, feeding on young grass blades and other herbs depending upon their availability.
• These creatures are known to live in burrows.
• They come out during the night and early mornings for grazing.
• In many places, L. nigricollis are considered pests because of the damage they can do to young trees and to crops.